escaping the colony

Lately, I have been contemplating about lovely moments - you know that satisfied, peaceful feeling that comes with being in a place of perfect bliss, where I am the only one completely in control of everything. There are no bosses to suck up to, no difficult and unreasonable people to deal with, no commitments to anything or anyone - just unadulterated selfishness. These times are so rare and so precious - just before I doze off into dreamland at night, I try to savour the feeling of that moment with the same deliberation as I savour a good glass of wine or a most delectable meal. I call those moments 'escaping the colony'.

So a couple of those moments produced the vest pictured above (there are additional pictures on flickr). The yarn is amazing, it is Mirasol's Hacho in Sienna Olive; the stitch pattern was fabulous, kind of a sloping basket stitch, the fit turned out well. Now the problem: the shoulders - blech, I think. This pattern has a wider shoulder that kind of flares into a little butterfly wing cap sleeve. I don't know if I am sold on it. You pick up stitches around the sleeve in a rib pattern and I think it now looks like I am ready to take flight. I don't know if I am exaggerating this in my head or if it really does look ridiculous. I could undo a bit of the side seam, rip out the rib edge of the shoulder and simply single crochet around the edge. In any case, I am not displeased with it and it will get some wear.

Happy weekend everyone.

ginger cookies

February and March can be somewhat depressing around here. As most parts of the world are starting to exhibit little signs of spring, we here in the Canadian prairies are typically enveloped by snow, cold, and.... flu season. I am a firm believer in the powers of knitting and cookies to stave of lingering winter blues.

Ginger has many wonderful medicinal properties - apparently it is a potent fighter against the common cold, sinus problems and flu symptoms.... all the more reason to indulge oneself with these amazing ginger cookies. The recipe can be found here. I do have to warn you that on the website these cookies look nice and round - mine really spread out so when it says in the instructions to place them a few inches apart on the pan, I suggest very strongly you do so. I used spelt flour in my recipe. This is not a cookie for the weak of palate - these cookies have a very assertive hit of ginger. I am quite certain after eating these babies, no flu or cold bug will want to be near you.

Have a great weekend

valentine musings

Valentine's day is one of those dilemmas - special days are supposed to be inclusive rather than exclusionary. I remember in my single days sitting at work and watching all the flowers being delivered to people wishing one of the bouquets was for me. I remember in school when kids would give Valentines to their classmates, and some kids would get so many and others would get none, amplifying their feeling of not being popular (I am quite positive there are people out there in life-long therapy for just that reason). Most of my single girlfriends absolutely dread/hate February 14 and would rather the day did not exist. I don't remember Valentine's Day being celebrated in the Czech Republic, however, in North America it is a day to celebrate love. I believe firmly that love comes in a variety of forms: partners, family, friends and even pets. I urge you to remember all those people you know who might need an extra-special something to make their Valentine's a day a good one - include someone - and for Pete's sake people, kiss your cat (or dog).

I have forbidden the Babe to send me flowers to work, rather we celebrate Valentine's day in private. This year, the Babe asked what I wanted for Valentine's day and I requested a Chapters gift card, because more than anything in the world, I love buying books... and there are a couple of books out there I very much want. Our goal for Saturday is to loaf around all day and do blissful 'nothings'.

So hugs and kisses to all of you and have a wonderful weekend.

nutrition break

I have been reading quite a few books lately on the politics of food. I have read Michael Pollan's books, Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon's The 100 Mile diet, Gina Mallet's Last Chance to Eat and just recently finished Mark Bittman's Food Matters. All very interesting books with some thought provoking opinions. The main theme that seems to run through most of these books is to eat a whole-foods diet based on grains, vegetables and fruits - with meat used more as a flavoring or eaten sparingly. I really like Mark Bittman's book the most - his food politics do not take away from the common sense advice, and he included a useful one-month food plan along with recipes. He has some excellent recipes using meat, poultry and fish for the dinner meals or gives a vegetarian option - I can tell you that 'vegetarian only' would not go over well with the Babe.

I have made a decision at the beginning of this year to try cook more from scratch and avoid most processed foods. One of my favorite food websites has to be 101 Cookbooks. It is only vegetarian but I love it as a resource for making things from scratch such as crackers, hummus, and salsa. Homemade salsa is so good, you know exactly what is in it and I urge you to try it - the link to the recipe is here. Nothing beats the February blues like a clean-up of one's diet. My motto is eat healthy 80 percent of the time and treat yourself the other 20 percent....my favorite treat is gummy bears!!